Drifter

It started to snow this morning and it came down pretty hard for a little while. The new snow was heavy and stuck to everything. It covered well and skied well. We groomed quite a few of our steeper trails last night and with new snow on top they were fantastic. I had a great time on Upper FIS. Smugglers’ Alley, Bootlegger, Drifter, Shuttle, and many more.

Bootlegger

We have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating and 63 trails open. 38 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Upper FIS and Bootlegger for a grand total of 162 acres. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for increasing clouds with a chance of afternoon shower and temperatures between 36 and 49 degrees. Expect some nice spring conditions for tomorrow.

Catchin’ AIR on Birch Run! L to R: Kristina prepairng to drop in, Ava in mid-flight, Chris carving it up

Ava, me, and Kristina enjoy a moment on top of Madonna Mountain.

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. Joy Kyle sent me a message on my Rockin’ Ron the Friendly Pirate facebook page asking if I could ski with her family this week. I replied in the affirmative. I’ve known the Kyles for many a year – they are summer regulars, but this is their first winter at the Mountain. Chris, Kristina, and Ava met me at the Mogul Mouse Lift and we took Midway over to the upper mountains. The trails conditions were packed powder which was very carve-able and made it easy to keep up our speed. On the way we saw the one of the Resort’s snowmaking reservoirs (which serves as Rumrunner’s Hideaway swimming and boating area in the summer). Trail picks were Catwalk, Drifter, Shuttle, and Poacher’s Woods. The girls wanted to do Blue Glades. I suggested a Red, White and Blue Glade… RED FOX GLADES (Red is in the name, Blue is the level of the trail, and white is the snow). Other trail picks included Lower Pipleine, Treasure Run, and Birch Run Terrain Park where we caught some air. It was a joy (even without Joy) to ski with the Kyles from CT.

While having lunch on the deck of the Black Bear I had a nice conversation with the Godfreys of NJ, another family I’ve know for many years. It was great to catch up.

In conclusion, with sunshine, spring conditions, and friends, it was a great day to catch some fresh air on the slopes of Smuggs!

Today was just gorgeous with the blue bird skies and milder temperatures. It was so pretty out today that I had to take a few runs just for the scenic views. I like the photo on the left because Madonna Mountain and Upper Drifter look different from this angle. Our Terrain Park Crew was in the Zone today getting ready for the Pond Skimming on Saturday, April 4th. It was neat to watch as the groomer cut a little deeper with each pass through the pond. The pond is really taking shape. I am really looking forward to skimmin’ n chillin’ n grillin’ this weekend! We have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 5 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We have 73 out of 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Tomorrow’s forecast is partly to mostly cloudy with a chance of flurries or a light shower early with temperatures between 37 and 45 degrees, which will make for some great spring conditions. 33 trails will be groomed tonight including skier’s right on Upper FIS, Smugglers’ Alley, Wanderer, and Hangman’s Drop for a grand total of 168 acres.

We have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with all 78 trails and all 8 lifts operating. We received 6 inches of new snow in the past 3 days. 28 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Drifter, Thomke’s Express, and Snow Snake for a grand total of 160 acres. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for mostly sunny skies with temperatures between 22 and 34 degrees. We are also expecting 1 to 2 inches of new snow tomorrow night and Monday.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day here in Northern Vermont! The close to Spring Equinox Sun shined brightly across the upper spine of the Green Mountains, as the early sub-zero temperatures moderated to a quite comfortable level. I personally have been skiing my tail off lately, so I thought I might take it easy and enjoy a few cruisers. I grabbed a brand new pair of 4FRNT skis, and headed up Madonna to carve some corduroy. My first run was down Chilcoot, which has a great variety of turns, bends, dips and rolls. Combine that with a little speed and fresh skis, and you’re sure to have a fun time and warm your legs up as well. My next run was down Drifter, another long cruiser off of Madonna, with equally as much character as Chilcoot.

I nabbed the first picture below from the top of Shuttle, which is accessed off of Drifter and connects you back to Sterling. You can see the top of Mt. Mansfield AKA “The Chin” in the background, this is the highest point in the state of Vermont at 4,393′. In the foreground you can see a zone known as “The Highway” which is part of the 1000 skiable acres here at Smugglers’. Make sure if you are planning on skiing or riding anywhere off trail that you play it safe, know where you are going, and don’t ride alone. If you are interested in learning more about side-country skiing and riding, perhaps look into a private lesson/guide, which is booked at the Ski and Ride desk by the hour for up to 6 hours.

I headed over to Sterling from there via Shuttle, and headed up the mountain to ski Black Snake to Practice Slope, so I could do my locals race runs. There was a lot going on in this part of the mountain. There were two slalom courses set for training, the locals race Giant Slalom, the machine made bump lines, and the two big jumps in The Zone. I ended up taking a couple laps on the T-Bar so I could try each of these things. It was a pretty cool sight watching everyone practicing in their own way so I grabbed the second picture to try to show everything that was going on.

Tomorrow look for sunny skies, temperatures moderating even more, and probably many folks enjoying the sun in the upper lot! There will be skiing and riding on our three mountains and all 8 lifts will be operating.

Mother Nature keeps hitting the refresh button. We are in a wonderful cycle where we get new snow every couple of days. All the snow has stayed powdery due to the colder temperatures. My son Hugh B and I had a fantastic time playing in the all powder. This photo was taken on the side of Upper Drifter. We are 100 percent open with top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with all 78 trails and all 8 lifts operating. We received 27 inches of snow in the past week and more is on the way. Tonight’s forecast is light snow 1 to 2 inches of accumulation possible. The forecast is also calling for up to 4 inches of new snow Saturday night and Sunday. It is going to be a great weekend!

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. What do a Pirate, a Poacher, a Knight, and a Doctor have in common? They all have glades named after them at Smuggs, and they were all enjoyed today by myself and my friend and co-worker Shelly from Treasures Child Care.

We also enjoyed runs on Upper FIS, Drifter, and Pipeline.There was POWDER everywhere! It’s not a long run, but we floated down Dan’s Ford on SWEET marshmellow-like snow! We were never cold and we were sure the thermometer was lying. Shelly’s husband Brian said not to miss these great conditions, and he was right. I’m glad we were able to poach a few hours and pillage some fun! All I have left to say is “Good Knight Pirates”.

We received 6 inches of new snow in the past 36 hours. This morning started off with flurries and then the sun came out. The conditions are just fantastic. I was skiing the traverse to Freefall with thoughts of heading to the Black Hole. I came out on Freefall and looked down. It was so inviting that I had to ski it. I got to ski with my sister-in-law Donna today. We had a great time taking in the views on Upper Drifter and finding powder stashes in the glades. This photo is Donna skiing Lower Catwalk. We have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We have 75 out of 78 tails open and 2 trails are closed due to the construction of the Boarder Cross course for this weekend. We are presently making snow on Lower Exhibition, Crossover, and Treasure Pitch. The forecast is calling for up to 6 inches of new snow for Friday.

Today was another just absolutely gorgeous day here at Smuggs. Beautiful sunny skies with temperatures in the 20’s. I had a great time on all 3 mountains. My first run of the day was Upper Drifter and it was groomed to perfection last night! I had to stop a few times to take in all of the amazing views from Drifter. This afternoon I headed to Sir Henry’s Learning Park for the World Famous Cookie Race. This race is a great way for the kids to show their parents everything they learned at Snow Sport University.

Spring is finally here and we have fantastic coverage. It was another bluebird day with bright sunshine and a high of 48 degrees. Our groomers were busy last night making us 180 acres of corduroy. Groomed trails will soften quicker because of the tilled snow. The warm air can get into tilled snow and soften the surface. Drifter was groomed last night and it’s in great shape. I skied it a few times enjoying the corn snow and great views. I ran into my good friend Nate on Sterling Mountain in the afternoon. We had a great time skiing Upper Exhibition as you can tell by the photo of the Nate seen here.

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Hugh Johnson

Hello skiers and riders! Thanks for checking out my blog. I've been skiing Smuggs since I was a young 'un, when my family moved to Vermont and made the resort a temporary home base. Full circle — now I'm introducing my own family to the mountain! Each day you'll find an entry and photo on mountain conditions and happenings, highlighting the great terrain we have spread over three mountains and the awesome adventures that skiers and riders of all ages can have out there! You'll also hear from Rockin' Ron Carter a couple days during the week. Maybe you'll spot him on his favorite run — Pirate's Plank on Sterling Mountain. We'll be out there on the slopes, and hope to see you — thanks for skiing and riding Smuggs!